Draxton’s Destiny is one week closer to release, and I’m terrified excited to see what everyone thinks of the wounded sergeant and his Minshaari. Last week, I presented an interlude from the Ravyn\’s point of view which was cut from the final novel as extraneous information. This week is no different. Read on for a deleted scene featuring my original space boys, Petri and Grokhaar.
This interlude chapter was originally placed between chapters four and five, I believe, and features Petri and Grokhaar searching for the men in Draxton’s unit. The idea was to have at least two of them rejoin Draxton midway through the novel. I scrapped it since the number of new characters introduced in Draxton was already pretty high, and after two years of imprisonment/torture, neither the Minshaari, Fieryl, nor Draxton could be certain of their loyalties.
I set aside the reunion for after the events in the book and pulled the interlude referencing the search. It may get placed elsewhere or at least referenced in either the Ravyn\’s book or a novella, or it may simply continue to live as an unused snippet. For now, it\’s simply a deleted snippet.
Interlude: Petri
“You just love dancing with death, don’t ya?”
Grokhaar was not happy. Ever since the Ravyn forwarded the human sergeant’s record, Petri had dragged him around the galaxies looking for Larrimore’s men. One had succumbed to injuries sustained on Frotel’s Belt. Another had dropped so far off the radar, even that pirate’s sexy arse was having trouble finding her. They’d sent two to the Iloumaer System to join up with the Obsidian Raven on Aron. And now they were here. Smack-dab in the middle of Alliance territory.
A supernal chuckle answered from the shadows to his left. “You overestimate your prowess, Den’Lastrian.”
Grokhaar choked on his laughter. “Minost’s balls, boy, you’ve always picked the worst times.”
“Or the best. I have to do this. I owe the sergeant my freedom, Grokhaar Xandria,” came the quiet reply. “I owe him you. I repay my debts.”
“I know you do, lad, but this ain’t like playing slap and tickle with a side-slither. This is Earth-tharking-VI. If the human’s right and those butchers are still looking for you, you’re walking right into a trap.”
“You stand out far more than I.” A pause, then laughter entered the beautiful voice which now came from his right. “Especially when you talk to yourself.”
Grokhaar raised his hand in a crude gesture but couldn’t deny the truth in his boy’s words. Since they stepped off the Desert Warrior and into the docking bay, his Pietro had been a ghost. Even now, he couldn’t spot the male unless the lad wanted to be seen. They kept to dark alleys and away from the glow of streetlamps. When there were no shadows to be found, they made their own. The city was not going to appreciate the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of iridium wands from their locked and alarmed housings.
When they reached the meeting point, they split. Petri disappeared farther into the shadows on the left of the small clearing. Grokhaar moved around the perimeter to the right. He stepped into the light only once, a ‘stumble’ that allowed him to be seen.
Nothing.
He frowned at the lost opportunity but continued his circuit. A small scavenger rooted for grubs under a nearby bush. A night bird sang the song of his people in search of a mate. The Alliance didn’t spring the expected trap. He reached the opposite end of the clearing from where they’d arrived, and a strong hand gripped his horn and pulled him off balance. The kiss that followed was hard, hot, and perfect in every way. Minost’s horns, he loved his boy.
“I do not like you playing bait,” Petri hissed. The boy’s eyes held the emerald glow limned in crimson that had fascinated him from the beginning. The points of his fangs rested on his bottom lip.
“If it gets you this riled up, I’m thinking we should do it more often.” He kissed away Petri’s hiss. “One more pass. They’ll be here in twenty.”
Another hard kiss before they both returned to the shadows.
Draxton’s Destiny, June 21, 2022. Preorder now available